Preps of the week: Branson’s Liu, Redwood claim honors at golf championships
The first postseason championships of the fall season were handed out following the MCAL girls golf championships at Meadow Club last Monday.
Branson School standout Elizabeth Liu produced the best round of the day and Redwood’s outstanding depth was more than enough to secure the team title.
The football action was highlighted by San Marin holding on for a big road win against Windsor plus blowout victories for Redwood and Branson.
Tam’s field hockey team and Marin Academy’s girls volleyball team got big performances as they sewed up high seeds for this week’s playoff action. The San Marin girls volleyball team netted the final playoff spot with a big win on Wednesday and Terra Linda’s girls tennis team took a big step toward doing the same thing.
Elizabeth Liu, Branson girls golf
The two-time MCAL golfer of the year added to her legacy last Monday by taking medalist honors at the league championships for the third consecutive season. Liu carded a 71 at Meadow Club and finished as the only golfer under par (72), five strokes better than the field. Liu’s round was highlighted by an eagle putt on the 15th hole. Liu is set to compete with her Branson teammates, who finished second at MCALs, at the North Coast Section Division II championship next Monday at Rooster Run in Petaluma.
Madeline Lim, Redwood girls golf
Lim finished second to Liu on the day, carding a 76 at Peacock Gap last Monday to lead Redwood to the team title. The Giants posted a score of 309 — comfortably in front of Branson’s 367. The Giants and Bulls have been battling over the MCAL pennant for four years now, with Branson winning in 2021 and 2023 and Redwood winning in 2022 and 2024. The Giants featured a slew of low scores behind Lim, including Katelyn Van Dusen with a 78, plus Chloe Branson and Taylor Bridges who both shot 79s.
Ashlin Quach and Ronan Ralston, Redwood football
The Giants scored in just about every way imaginable in a 55-21 rout of Napa on Friday night. Quach and Ralston provided many of the highlights. Quach made his biggest impact by scoring on a pair of long kickoff returns for the Giants. Ralston scooped up a blocked punt by Ben Harp and returned it for another special-teams touchdown. Ralston also tipped a pass on defense that was intercepted and returned for a score by Ben Vaughn.
Daniel Rolovich, San Marin football
Rolovich was a big-play machine early in a 35-27 road win at Windsor on Friday night. Rolovich got the Mustangs rolling by heaving a deep pass for receiver Wesley Timmel that resulted in a 69-yard touchdown. Rolovich used his legs on San Marin’s next drive, bolting 67 yards for his second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 lead. Rolovich later threw his third and fourth touchdowns to Zack Farbstein and Timmel, respectively, to help San Marin move to 6-1. The Mustangs’ current gauntlet — which began against Marin Catholic and continued against Windsor — sees them hit the road again next week for a huge game against unbeaten Cardinal Newman.
Ani Steig, Archie Williams girls cross country
Stieg was the first runner to cross the finish line in a tri-meet between the Peregrine Falcons, Tam, and Terra Linda on Wednesday with a time of 18 minutes, 34.56 seconds. Stieg followed that result up with a third-place finish — best among Marin runners — at the Mariner Invitational in Hayward on Saturday. Stieg ran a time of 17:38.44 seconds. Redwood’s Sydney Middleton, Tam’s Emma Gardner, Branson’s Audrey Spaly, and Redwood’s Kate Kozubik all placed inside the top 10 on Saturday.
Sylvia Tuerke and Brianna Nottingham, San Marin girls volleyball
The Mustangs clinched their first MCAL playoff spot since 2018 by winning a crucial four-setter against Archie Williams on Wednesday. San Marin finished fourth in 2018 and secured the sixth and final spot in a must-win game against the Peregrine Falcons. Tuerke had a team-highs of 16 digs and seven aces, adding seven kills. Nottingham, the team’s kill leader on the season with 249, led the way in that category again with 12. San Marin hits the road to face No. 3 Redwood on Tuesday night.
Katie Murphy, Marin Academy girls volleyball
Murphy put together a strong game with 20 kills, 16 digs, three blocks, and three aces to help Marin Academy pick up an important win against Convent of the Sacred Heart and close league play on a five-game win streak. The win lifted the Wildcats above Convent into second place and set them up to host the Cubs again on Wednesday in the Bay Counties League West semifinals.
Rowie Scobie, Tam field hockey
Scobie scored a team-high five goals as the Red-tailed Hawks won the regular-season title and claimed the top seed in this week’s playoffs with a 12-0 win against Marin Academy on Thursday. Tam hosts a semifinal on Wednesday and would also host Friday’s final with a victory.
Thomas Lardner, Branson football
The Bulls avenged a loss to last season’s NCS champions South Fork by trouncing the Cubs 58-0 on Saturday. Lardner accounted for five touchdown passes in the blowout, including a pair of scores to Chase Hoeveler. Lardner also tossed touchdowns to Mo Jacoby and Mario Rodriguez. The Bulls face a much tougher task this coming weekend with a road game against Stuart Hall on Friday. Stuart Hall eliminated Branson in the section semifinals last year.
Vincent Krilanovich, Archie Williams boys water polo
The league-leading Peregrine Falcons took a break from MCAL play and headed to the Memorial Cup tournament. Archie Williams went 3-1 to take third place at the event, losing to Corona Del Mar which is ranked No. 3 in the state by MaxPreps.com. Krilanovich was the leading scorer at the tournament for the Peregrine Falcons — ranked No. 8 in the state — with 14 goals. He was also the joint top scorer in a non-league win against San Ramon Valley, soring four times in that game. Archie Williams will look to finish MCAL play with a perfect record this week with games against Marin Catholic on Tuesday and Marin Academy on Wednesday.
Chloe Sason and Mimi Kemp, Terra Linda girls tennis
TL’s freshman duo came up big in a 4-3 win over Archie Williams that moved the Trojans into sixth place above the Peregrine Falcons heading into the final week of the season. Kemp got the win in the most competitive match of the day, 4-6, 6-2, 10-8 at No. 4 singles. Sason grabbed a 7-6, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles. Both players also won their matches earlier in the week against Marin Catholic, albeit in a 5-2 defeat.